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June 19, 2016

ENG It's bucketing down, and I like to think back to last Sunday in the Sipoo time zone. Busy working on photographer Sini's portfolio, we had the lovely idea of setting the dinner table out on the terrace, and the grannies' old table and chairs were hauled out from the shed and dusted...

I, too, suddenly found myself in the picture (in my fleamarket-found jeans and jacket) while we were setting the table and talking about how food could be served outside on almost every summer night, choosing a different tablecloth and plates every time. I'm still into the idea of "user-ownership" that Pertti Pänkäläinen wrote about in Vihreä lanka (1 February, 2013) a couple of years back. "You own what you use. The more you're using something like a commodity, a device, or goods... the more you own it. If you have a pair of skis that you take out once a winter, you own them less than if you'd go skiing fifteen times. If your summer cottage door squeaks three times a summer, you own a fraction of what you would if you lived at the cottage all summer." (The translation from Finnish is my own.) I've already quoted Pänkäläinen before, if you want to continue reading. The hand-woven rag rug, especially loved the family's dogs, is secondhand – and actually made by my dear Granma Ester's, to whom I've dedicated the blog, late sister Maija, in Joutsa, Finland.

"You own what you use. The more you're using something... the more you own it. If you have a pair of skis that you take out once a winter, you own them less than if you'd go skiing fifteen times. If your summer cottage door squeaks three times a summer, you own a fraction of what you would if you lived at the cottage all summer.

We had a huge salad that was conjured up of everything we found in the fridge: a variety of salads (some of which was a bit leathery and we quickly refreshed it in ice-cold water), avocado, carrots, celery stalks, tomato, as well as feta and mozzarella cheese. There was enough salad to go around, and some was left over and put in lunch boxes for the next day, which made me very happy as I knew I would be commuting several miles on my bike. ⎮ Söimme salaattia, joka oli taiottu kokoon kaikesta, mitä jääkaapista löysimme: erilaisia salaatteja (joista osa oli päässyt nuupahtamaan, ja virkistimme niitä hetken jääkylmässä vedessä), avokadoa, porkkanaa, sellerinvarsia, tomaattia ja sekä feta- että mozzarellajuustoa. Valtavasta salaatista riitti seuraavan päivän lounasrasioihinkin, mistä itse olin oikein iloinen, kun tiesin että pyörällä ajettuja työmatkakilometrejä kertyisi reilusti.

On the menu there was also Sini's husband Jarkko's fish soup that on this occasion was prepared with pike and perch the couple's son Pyry had caught fishing on his first week of summer vacation. The evening tea we packed to go, and off we went to the horse corral with the family's American Bulldogs Tofu and Ponkes. In the paddock we were greeted by the newest member of the family, white half-blood gelding Perfect Boy.⎮Ruokalistalla oli lisäksi Sinin aviomiehen Jarkon kalasoppaa, joka oli tällä kertaa keitetty Pyry-pojan ensimmäisellä kesälomaviikolla kalastamasta ahvenesta ja hauesta. Iltateen pakkasimme mukaamme hevosaitaukseen, jonne suuntasimme perheen amerikanbulldoggien Tofun ja Ponkesin kanssa. Perillä meitä odotti perheen uusin jäsen, valkoinen puoliveriruuna Perfect Boy.

Seated next to the fence, watching the horses, we had beautiful yellow turmeric tea in a happy go lucky pair of cups: one cup bought by Sini, the other one found at the flea market by me... (The spoons, Aarikka.) – I'm amazed that turmeric is known to have more that 600 health benefits! In traditional Chinese medicine, turmeric has been used in the treatment of depression for centuries, and recent studies conducted at the University of California have found that curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, can reduce the instances of Alzheimer’s disease. This is why a study of elderly people in Indian villages found that they had the lowest instances of Alzheimer’s in the world. Turmeric has many anti-inflammatory properties that help in treating various health problems like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, also reducing inflammation caused by wounds, acne and other skin conditions. It can also help people with cancer, multiple sclerosis, and high cholesterol, among others, while diabetic patients and those with viral infections can also benefit from turmeric.

"In traditional Chinese medicine, turmeric has been used in the treatment of depression for centuries, and recent studies conducted at the University of California have found that curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, can reduce the instances of Alzheimer’s disease.

June 11, 2016

ENG In exactly three months the annual Habitare fair will again be in full swing, and I can hardly wait – as I also happen to know that this year trash!, a special exhibition curated by Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom and Henrik Enbom, will focus on plastic, presenting an entire recycled interior in plastic materials.

Two weeks ago the couple behind the exhibition and Trash Design collective opened the doors to their centrally located Helsinki home organically doubling as their laboratory to a handful of bloggers and journalists, and I was among the lucky ones to peek in the home exuding details, and ingenious sliding doors and storage solutions! Join me on this inspiring house tour!

"In this apartment, there are two important things: lamps and art." – Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom

PS Also check out Trash design. Oppikirja optimisteille by Isa Kukkapuro, Henrik Enbom and A. Salonen (Dodo, 2015 – only in Finnish), a little textbook that goes against the prevailing buy, use and throw away consumption, questioning the ideology of continued growth while encouraging use of surplus material in the production of design objects. – The table lamp, called LdS, is Henrik Enbom's design and it is marketed by Dodo.

June 8, 2016

ENG Saturday Shop! Shop saturday! Which ever way you put it, if you ask me this is shopping at its most inspirational, and luxurious. Eyeing ready-made pieces of jewelry, clothing and conceptual art with your dear friend while you're being offered a cup of coffee – and can at the same time either order products or plan for modifications in your existing garments together with a fashion designer.

The masterminds behind Saturday Shop (Fredrikinkatu 28, Helsinki), open by appointment and on Saturdays so far, Markus Keränen (Concept designer), Jaana Haaksiluoto (Fashion designer) and Annika Cumlander (Goldsmith), want to promote ethical consumerism and make the production process as transparent as possible. I like!

Saturday Shop, with jewellery by goldsmith Annika Cumlander and dresses by Fashion designer Jaana Haaksiluoto in the background.

Saturday Shop details – the grand opening was held on 28 May.

Fashion designer Jaana Haaksiluoto.

"Saturday Shop is a concept store where you can find clothing, accessories, jewelry, creative ideas, and delightful design products for your everyday life... For us, aesthetics and ethics go hand in hand, and a common thread in our operations is to promote design that can withstand closer scrutiny, in terms of both the choice of materials and production process."

Detail of a white collage of things that inspire the team behind Saturday Shop.

Garments by Fashion designer Jaana Haaksiluoto.

Work in progress by Fashion designer Jaana Haaksiluoto.

Work in progress by Fashion designer Jaana Haaksiluoto.

Jewellery by Goldsmith Annika Cumlander.

"Circle of Good Life", inspired by the annual growth rings of trees, by Concept designer Markus Keränen.

Recyclie, that's me, a foodie gone (re)cycling: This blog's all about bicycle riding, living and cooking on a shoestring, and, naturally, recycling, or "repairing, repainting, reinterpreting, reviving, redeploying or simply relishing" – to quote one of my favorite interior designers and authors, Ilse Crawford–, feminine and Finnish style, with an Italian twist. In real life, I'm a Helsinki-based interpreter and translator, as well as the author of "Reilun kaupan ruokaa ja elämää" (Perhemediat, 2009), that is, the first Finnish Fairtrade cookbook.